Service centre for tourists set up in Murree
With the likely increase in the span of snowfall season in Murree, the civil defence department has established a service center for the assistance of tourists visiting the hill resort. According to a statement, Murree Deputy Commissioner Ahmad Hassan Ranjha and Additional Deputy Commissioner Qasim Ijaz visited the service centre on Sunday and lauded personnel for performing their duties.
The officials assured the personnel of the department to resolve their problems immediately.
When contacted, district civil defence officer Talib Hussain said that female volunteers have been appointed at this service centre so that female tourists can inform them about their problems without hesitation, while a total of 50 uniformed volunteers have been deployed in Murree.
“Our volunteers are posted at all the picnic points of Murree including the GPO Chowk, Mall Road, Pindi Point, Kashmir Point, and Sunny Bank who are performing duties round the clock in separate shifts”, he said.
They are also playing a key role in removing vehicles stuck in the snow, while food is also distributed among the needy, he added.
He further said that we have given Taser guns, walkie talkies to the volunteers along with uniforms.
Meanwhile, a number of tourists from across the country have started visiting the hilly areas to enjoy the beauty of nature during snowfall.
According to officials, a large number of tourists are turning up at popular tourist destinations including Murree, Malam Jabba, Kalam, Naran, Kaghan, Swat, Hunza, Ziarat, Chitral, and Kashmir.
Local as well as international tourists are increasing significantly after the first snowfall of the year but visitors are facing issues related to lodging and increased rates as several hotels and other businesses had already been closed before the start of the current snowfall spell.
As Naran-Kaghan Road is closed since November 2022, the only available route to these destinations is the Karakoram Highway.
Visitors are advised to check weather advisories, road situations, and routes before leaving for these destinations.
A large number of visitors in Swat also reported that the majority of hotels are already booked and they requested the authorities concerned to take serious action against those fleecing the tourist.
On the other hand, the Galiyat Development Authority (GDA) and Civil and Works (C&W) department Sunday cleared the roads of Galiyat for all sorts of vehicular traffic after three days of continuous heavy snowfall. According to the sources, after the clearance of snow, a large number of tourists reached Galiyat to enjoy the serene beauty of nature and snowfall.
With additional input from APP
Published in The Express Tribune, January 16th, 2023.